Red Bull RB5
| Industry | Formula One racing team |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 |
| Headquarters | Milton Keynes , United Kingdom |
Key people | Adrian Newey (designer) |
| Products | Formula One cars |
| Website | www |
The Red Bull RB5 is a Formula One car engineered by Red Bull Racing specifically for the 2009 Formula One season. Piloted by Sebastian Vettel—who was elevated from Red Bull's affiliate team Scuderia Toro Rosso—and Mark Webber, the RB5 made its debut on 9 February 2009 at the Circuito de Jerez.
This vehicle marked several milestones for Red Bull, achieving the team's inaugural pole position, race victory, and their first-ever 1–2 finish during the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix. Throughout the season, the RB5 secured six wins out of seventeen races—four victories credited to Vettel and two to Webber—helping Red Bull secure second place in the Constructors' Championship behind Brawn GP. Vettel also ended the season as runner-up in the Drivers' Championship, finishing behind Jenson Button.
Acknowledging his pivotal contribution to transforming Red Bull into a championship contender, designer Adrian Newey was presented with a complete RB5 chassis in July 2010, which he later showcased at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Technical specifications
Regulations for 2009 required rear wings to be narrower and higher, with front wings becoming wider and lower to minimize aerodynamic turbulence and promote overtaking. The return of Slick tyres—absent since 1998—increased the RB5’s grip by approximately 20%.
Red Bull explored fitting a KERS to harness braking energy for enhanced performance. However, after a factory fire disrupted their development efforts, they decided to implement Renault’s KERS system under their customer engine arrangement. Despite this plan, the RB5 never actually competed using KERS.
Launch
The RB5 was introduced later than rival teams’ cars to allow additional development time, sacrificing early track testing opportunities. Expectations were high for a significant leap beyond the RB4’s performance, which had only managed a single podium finish in 2008. Sebastian Vettel expressed measured optimism, recognizing Ferrari and McLaren as front-runners but hopeful that new technical regulations would narrow the competitive gap.
Vettel affectionately named his RB5 chassis 'Kate'; after damaging it in Melbourne, he referred to its replacement as 'Kate's Dirty Sister'.
Testing
Early testing at Jerez was interrupted due to excessive oil temperatures in the gearbox. Once resolved, the RB5 posted the quickest lap among 2009-spec cars at Jerez, outpacing rivals such as Williams, McLaren, and Renault. After recovering from a cycling injury, Webber completed an 83-lap stint—matching race distance—without issues and recorded lap times faster than Vettel’s previous day.
Season performance
The RB5 showed impressive pace early in the year: Vettel claimed victory at the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix with Webber finishing second, securing Red Bull’s first-ever 1-2 result. By mid-season, it had overtaken the Brawn BGP 001 as the quickest car on track. The car initially featured a slender needle-like nose but transitioned to a broader, flatter nose design by the , which remained in use throughout the V8 engine era.
Chassis log
| RB5 | Four units produced (RB5/01–RB5/04) – three achieved race wins |
|---|---|
| RB5 01 "Kate" |
Underwent shakedown testing by Vettel and Webber at Jerez in February 2009. Driven by Vettel to victories at Shanghai (pole position), Suzuka (pole), and Yas Marina (fastest lap). Also campaigned by Vettel at Albert Park, Sepang, Bahrain, Barcelona-Catalunya, Monaco, Istanbul (pole), Spa-Francorchamps (fastest lap), Monza, Marina Bay, and Interlagos. |
| RB5 02 | Piloted by Webber during his first career win at Nürburgring (pole). Also competed in races at Albert Park, Sepang, Shanghai, Bahrain, Barcelona-Catalunya, Monaco, Istanbul, Silverstone, Hungaroring (fastest lap), Monza, and Marina Bay. Used only in practice sessions at Suzuka where it was involved in a crash. |
| RB5 03 | The sole RB5 chassis without a Grand Prix win. Utilized by Vettel for practice at Albert Park; raced by Webber at Valencia and Spa-Francorchamps. |
| RB5 04 "Kate's Dirty Sister" |
Raced by Vettel to wins at Silverstone (including pole and fastest lap), Nürburgring, Hungaroring, and Valencia. Later driven by Webber to victories at Interlagos (fastest lap), Suzuka (fastest lap), and Yas Marina. |
Full Formula One Results
(key) (bold denotes pole position; italics signifies fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Power Unit | Tyre Supplier | Competitors | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Total Points | Constructors' Championship Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:F1 | Red Bull Racing | Renault RS27 V8 | Template:Bridgestone | AUS | MAL‡ | CHN | BHR | ESP | MON | TUR | GBR | GER | HUN | EUR | BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | BRA | ABU | 153.5 | 2nd | |
| Germany Sebastian Vettel | 13† | 15 | 1 | 2 | 4 | Retired | 3 | 1 | 2 | Retired | Retired | 3 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | ||||||
| Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Mark Webber | 12 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 9 | Retired | Retired | 17 | 1 | 2 |
Driver did not complete the race but was classified having covered more than 90% of the distance.
Half points were allocated due to less than 75% of the race distance being completed.